InTotality have identified several significant contributing factors to IT Management deployment Failures involved:

• A lack of understanding by the customer in terms of what is being asked for
• A failure to develop a detailed Architecture Plan and strategy for the deployment of the solution
• Underestimation of, or failing to account for cost of ownership in product selection and solution design
• Attempting to deploy too much too fast, over complicating the deployment and preventing successful adoption

IT Service Delivery Management systems are complex business applications, requiring a detailed understanding of business needs and monitoring requirements to design a solution that is aligned with the business and has an acceptable cost of ownership.

Cost of ownership is the total cost of owning and maintaining the system over time, typically calculated over 3 years. The cost of ownership between the various management technologies and solution designs can vary dramatically. Failing to understand and account for this is the solution architecture the major cause of solutions failing to meet expectations, with the cost and effort required to keep the system providing basic functionality preventing more advanced functionality and precluding an acceptable return on investment.

To successfully deploy complex systems, a staged deployment plan is needed and this should be aligned with business requirements to deploy a solution that builds on itself, providing progressively greater functionality through clear milestones and deliverables.